In the Debussy year, Opera Vlaanderen wants to make a clear statement with Pelléas et Mélisande. A production that knocks you over, with sets by the world-renowned performance artist Marina Abramović and dual direction by Damien Jalet and choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui. Whether this latter aspect guarantees a successful performance remains to be seen.
For his only opera, Debussy was fascinated by a work by Maurice Maeterlinck: "a text that half expresses things and leaves room for me to graft my dream onto his." Pelléas et Mélisande is a mysterious piece and a stunningly beautiful opera. The story is simple, but of little consequence. What matters is what lies beneath. Nothing is clearly defined or described, least of all the characters and especially not Mélisande. When we meet her, she is a young woman, lost in a forest. The setting is "Allemonde", the time is a question mark. What counts in this opera is the atmosphere, the symbolism and the inscrutable subconscious of the characters. Maeterlinck and Debussy are typical representatives of the fin de siècle with its melancholy and dreaminess. More than the words themselves, symbols are important, such as water, the grotto, the tower, the fountain. As symbols, they need not be explicitly visible. The suggestion is what matters most.
Marina Abramović fulfills this beautifully in her setting. She designed an aesthetic but meaningful decor. Within a large black shell shape, life in Allemonde unfolds: somber, enclosed, yet universal. Against the back wall, a large circle alludes to the cyclical nature of life. Throughout the opera, it takes on all sorts of cosmic colors, as if you see images of the solar system, a world outside the real world in which the tragic love triangle of Mélisande, Golaud and Pelléas takes place. The circle is reminiscent of the beautiful painting by Belgian symbolist Fernand Khnopff with the vague and dreamy image, titled Mélisande. Dramaturg Piet De Volder chose it as an illustration for his interesting commentary in Opera Vlaanderen's magazine Insight. The eye often projected in the circle is, according to the artist's explanation, a reference to humanity's inability to see, typical of Maeterlinck's work. Within the large circle, the tower is also suggested, where Golaud has Mélisande spied on by Yniold. A black round form on the stage represents the fountain, so important to the piece: Golaud meets Mélisande there in the first act. In the second act, she is there together with Pelléas and loses her ring, and in the fourth act, Pelléas and Mélisande confess their love for each other at that fountain. Another aspect that characterizes Abramović's set are the enormous pieces of rock crystal that shape the stage and are used both standing and lying down. It is not only an element characteristic of Abramović's art, but its application here with the almost translucent white color also fits with the enigmatic, impenetrable world of Allemonde and the mysterious inner life of the characters. In the final act, such a crystal forms Mélisande's deathbed. Her death is not only a beginning for her newborn daughter, but it seems as if Mélisande takes her place in an indeterminate universe.
The beautiful costumes by Iris van Herpen are certainly part of the visual aspect. Mélisande is dressed in a very beautiful transparent dress – a sort of tulle. Why in the fourth act she no longer goes barefoot but must step in oversized platform shoes is a mystery to me. The male characters also wear stylish black suits.
Choreographic overkill
Damien Jalet's direction certainly contains moments that convey the relationships between the characters, though that is not always the case. For example, in the opening scene, the encounter between Golaud and Mélisande is completely disrupted by the busy back-and-forth pulling of the dancers. With ropes, they express the difficult encounter as a kind of game. The idea of the ropes is repeated in the brutal scene where Golaud pulls Mélisande by the hair. The prominent presence of the dancers is the most disturbing aspect of the direction. There is no doubt that these muscular guys perform brilliantly what their role is, but I seriously question their presence itself. Pelléas et Mélisande is an opera in which the music is given the role of expressing the emotions where words fall short. Whenever choreography is inserted to convey those words and emotions of the characters with very explicit movements, it disturbs the music. When Golaud is furious at Mélisande and pulls her by the hair, we hear that clearly enough in his music and we don't need those fierce dancers to understand it. It seems as if this production has no confidence in Debussy's music and needs to give it a hand (or a dance)! It comes across almost as an affront to Debussy rather than a tribute. Fortunately, in the second half, the role of the dancers is noticeably much smaller and – phew – what a calm comes over the opera and the concentration can focus more on the music. The serenity of the work benefits from everything.
Musically, the performance is of a good level. I must admit I expected more from Mari Eriksmoen as Mélisande. I have already heard her live at BOZAR and on one of her recordings she performs the Lieder der Ophelia by Richard Strauss wonderfully, which is in the same vein. She looks fragile and vulnerable and sings with a sensual and delicate soprano, but she is not quite the ultimate Mélisande. Jacques Imbrailo defended his spiritual kinship with Mélisande with his velvety tenor. It's a shame that the incompatibility between the two brothers didn't take stronger form in their acting performance. Leigh Melrose seemed an uncertain Golaud and sang especially poor French. Matthew Best, on the other hand, was a moving Roi Arkel, singing with sensitive authority. As beautifully as Anat Edri sings the role of Yniold, she comes across with difficulty as acceptable in the role of the little boy. Markus Suihkonen repeated his positive impression here as shepherd and doctor following his interpretation as Pförtner in Das Wunder der Heliane.
Alejo Pérez conducted a colourful and intense musical version with Wagnerian sonority at times. He let the orchestra sound clear and distinctly accentuated the motifs. He paid attention to the not always easy phrase rhythm of the vocal parts, which certainly put the singers at ease. Despite the superfluous choreography, we musically enjoyed a beautiful Pelléas et Mélisande, an opera which as Debussy's only opera represents a milestone in music history and is indestructible through its unique atmosphere and beautiful music!
- WHAT: Claude Debussy (1862-1918) | Pelléas et Mélisande
- DIRECTION: Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui & Damien Jalet
- DÉCOR/CONCEPT: Marina Abramović
- VOICES: Mari Eriksmoen, Jacques Imbrailo, Leigh Melrose, Matthew Best, Susan Maclean, Anat Edri, Markus Suihkonen
- ORCHESTRA: Symfonisch Orkest Opera Vlaanderen & Koor Opera Vlaanderen conducted by Alejo Pérez
- WHEN: Friday, February 2, 2018 (premiere) – performances continue until February 13 in Antwerp and in Ghent from February 23 to March 4, 2018
- PHOTO CREDITS: © Rahi Rezvani & Annemie Augustijns
